SAIL AND POWER

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19034, 1 April 1930, Page 4

SAIL AND POWER

By

“STEM.”

The season's activities on the water are drawing to a close and only a few Saturday racing fixtures remain. Except for the Brighton Power Boat Club the Easter regattas will officially be the end of this season.

As the result of last Saturday’s racing the Christchurch Sailing Club’s Seamew Cup was won by F. Glanville’s Sea Imp. Glanville had a day that suited him, an excellent for’ard hand in G. Allen and a generous handicap: on top of all which he certainly sailed a better race than could have been expected. The Life Members’ Cup lies between Sea Imp and Playmate, who will sail off the tie. One junior members’ race has yet po be sailed in place of the last one, which was declared no race owing to lack of water. There are a number of good juniors in the running. M’Grath and Bassett

sailed an excellent race on Saturday in Playmate and almost deserve a victory in the junior event. Two other promising skippers are S. Morrison and O. White.

The Canterbury Outboard Club hoped to complete the B and C Class and open championships on Saturday, but darkness intervened. R. M. Watson’s Seahorse took the B class shield with one first and one second in the heats as the result of brilliant driving. J. Page, by consistent driving and reliability of engine, was runner-up, and G. Blogg’s Miss Audrey third. Miss Audrey should have done better, but Blogg let slower boats away by sluggish cornering. J. Simpson’s Play Boy, with two firsts and a second in the heats, easily accounted for the C class shield. Seahorse again was placed first once and second twice. Minor points went to Miss Audrey and J. Pedder’s Heck.

R. W. Gormack brought Naomi back to Redcliffs from Lyttelton on Saturday afternoon. The journey down to the heads was very slow, but with spinnaker up Naomi came to the jetty from the lighthouse in 45 minutes. The tide was ebbing when the bar was reached. There were several “breaks ” just in front of the yacht and several curlers which smoothed over just be-

fore catching her astern. The bar is dangerous at present as there is nothing to pick it up by from outside. Cordelia is up on the slip.

The Pleasant Point Yacht Club on April 12 will hold a race for the President’s Cup—a silver cup presented by Mr A. F. Stacey t 6 be won outright in one race. The race will start at 3.30 p.m. over a course of 6 miles from the club house down the main channel to the Avon buoy and return. During the week-end a junior members’ Takapuna class race over a course of about three miles and a half will be held for trophies donated by the club. Junior members are nineteen years and under. During last week-end a working bee from the Pleasant Point Yacht Club staked the Avon channel from the club house to Cargeeg’s bend. The Brighton Power Boat Club will stake from Cargeeg’s bend to the Avon buoy and the Christchurch Sailing Club from the Avon buoy downstream. On Sunday improvements wertf made to the Pleasant Point Club’s grid, which has been extended to 40 feet. A walk has been made along it and a winch installed. x :: Tui and Valmai will go to Port Levy regatta at Easter and a number of members of the club are preparing to go into camp there. The America Cup (continued). In the fast few contests, British yachts have not been placed at any appreciable disadvantage by having to cross the Atlantic. Jn 1914, when Shamrock IV. went to America, she was constructed just as lightly as Resolute, which defended the cup. The war caused the race to be postponed until 1920. The reason the Shamrock IV. was unsuccessful was that she was of inferior design compared with the defender, and thus was honestly beaten. The British designer, Mr Charles Nicholson, played his hand very boldly. He designed a huge boat with huge sails and huge rating. He played, as it were, to overpower his opponent. The American designer, Mr N. Herreshoff, de-

signed a boat of moderate size, with moderate sails. He played scientifically and for safety. Both yachts were 75ft long on the water-line, but Shamrock IV. rated 94ft, whist Resolute rated only 83£ft‘. The result was that the English yacht had to allow the American yacht seven minutes on a thirtymile course.

The contest was the best out of five races. In the first race, the American yacht broke down, the throat halliards broke on the winch, and this scored to Shamrock. The second race was just such a day as Mr Nicholson had played for. Shamrock finished nine minutes ahead of the little American, and thus won by two minutes. The huge canvas of the Nicholson, boat had done its work. The American yachtsmen, for the first time in seventy years, felt their cup was in jeopardy ! In the third race, the two yachts finished a dead heat. Thus, with her time allowance in hand, the American won by seven minutes. Then luck deserted Sir Thomas Lipton’s boat, and in the two remaining races Resolute not only finished ahead of Shamrock, but, with her time allowance added, won these races by ten minutes and twenty minutes. Shamrock IV. was broken up. She was a freak, and quite useless for any other purpose but this race. It was a sporting effort, and kept the Americans on tip-toe for many days. Sir Thomas has built five Shamrocks altogether, and that one which he uses for British racing is still one of the best boats Mr Fife ever designed. She was the champion cutter round the British coasts in 1929. Here is a complete record of the challenge contests for the cup:— 1870— Magic beat Cambria. 1871— -Columbia beat Livonia. 1876—Madeleine beat Countess of Dufferin. 188i—Mischief beat Atalanta. 1885— Puritan beat Genesta. 1886— Mayflower beat Galatea. 1887— Voluteer beat Thistle. 1893—Vigilant beat Valkyrie 11. 1895—Defender beat Valkyrie 111. 1899 —Columbia beat Shamrock I. 1901—Columbia beat Shamrock 11. 1903 —Reliance beat Shamrock 111. 1920 —Resolute beat Shamrock IV. FIXTURES. April s—Christchurch5 —Christchurch Sailing Club, junior members’ race. April 12—Canterbury Outboard Club, open handicap races for President’s Cup, at Redcliffs. April 12—Brighton Power Boat Club, Rowland trophy race. Estuary course, 3 p.m. April 12—Pleasant Point Yacht Club, President’s Cup and junior members’ races. Easter—Regatta at Port Levy, under the auspices of the Sailing and Power Boat Association. Easter—Outboard motor boat provincial championships at Akaroa. April 26—Brighton Power Boat Club, Owles trophy race, Lyttelton moles to Pigeon Bay wharf, 2.30 pm.